Michigan

AMENDMENT LANGUAGE

State Constitutional Provision

Mich. Const. art. VIII, § 2: "No public monies or property shall be appropriated or paid or any public credit utilized, by the legislature or any other political subdivision or agency of the state directly or indirectly to aid or maintain any private, denominational or other nonpublic, pre-elementary, elementary, or secondary school. No payment, credit, tax benefit, exemption or deductions, tuition voucher, subsidy, grant or loan of public monies or property shall be provided, directly or indirectly, to support the attendance of any student or the employment of any person at any such nonpublic school or at any location or institution where instruction is offered in whole or in part to such nonpublic school students. The legislature may provide for the transportation of students to and from any school." (Passed Nov. 3, 1970)

RELEVANT CASES

State Courts

·       Becker v. Granholm, 272 F. Supp. 2d 643 (E.D. Mich. 2003) (Michigan Federal District Court, on a motion for preliminary injunction, held that a Michigan college student was substantially likely to prevail on the merits of her claim that the state violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution when it withdrew her scholarship because she enrolled in a theology degree program, and that the Michigan constitutional provision prohibiting the use of public funds to aid nonpublic schools did not prohibit the scholarship because the constitutional provision did not apply to college funding).

·       Council of Organizations and Others for Educ. About Parochiaid, Inc. v. Governor, 566 N.W.2d 208 (Mich. 1997) (Michigan Supreme Court held that the 1993 Charter Schools Act, which authorized the creation of public school academies that were operated by private parties but were closely regulated by a public school board, and provided free education on a nondiscriminatory basis, did not violate the Michigan constitutional provision prohibiting public aid to nonpublic schools, because the public school academies qualified as “public schools”).

·       Snyder v. Charlotte Public School Dist., Eaton County, 365 N.W.2d 151 (Mich. 1984) (Michigan Supreme Court held that a public school district was required to allow nonpublic school students to enroll in nonessential elective courses offered to public school students on public school premises on a shared-time basis, and that this practice did not violate the Michigan constitutional provision prohibiting the use of public funds to aid nonpublic schools).

·       In re Advisory Opinion re Constitutionality of 1974 PA 242, 228 N.W.2d 772 (Mich. 1975) (Michigan Supreme Court opined that a proposed bill, providing that the State Board of Education would purchase textbooks and supplies and loan or provide them free of charge on an equal basis to all children enrolled in public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools, violated the Michigan constitutional provision prohibiting the use of public funds to aid nonpublic schools, because the textbooks and supplies were a “primary” element of the support and maintenance of a private school, rather than merely “incidental” support).

Carman v. Secretary of State, 185 N.W.2d 1 (Mich. 1971) (Amendment to constitutional provision for free public schools and prohibiting public aid to nonpublic schools and students is effective if approved by majority).

In the Matter of Executive Message of Governor v. Kelley, 384 Mich. 390 (1971) (Constitutional prohibition precludes purchase of educational services from nonpublic school, does not prohibit shared time practices, and is valid except insofar as it prohibits extending auxiliary services and drivers training to nonpublic school students).

REPEAL EFFORTS

See the Heritage Foundation website for a list of state contacts.